At the Chevrolet Experience at Daytona International Speedway (the former victory lane) Friday (Jan. 27), Chevrolet officially unveiled the Corvette Z06.R GT3. The new car, based on the Z06 variant of the C8 Corvette, will debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in next year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona in the GTD Pro class.
The Z06.R GT3 is the first factory Corvette that fully conforms to the FIA’s ruleset for GT3 race cars. It was also developed as a joint venture between Pratt Miller Engineering, the company responsible for the previous factory Corvette racers and General Motors’ Competition Motorsports Engineering. The current Chevrolet Corvette C8.R that competes in IMSA is a modified version of the car that was created for the former GT Le Mans class (GTE-Pro in the FIA World Endurance Championship).
The overall goal was to create a GT3 Corvette which will be very quick on all kinds of different tracks. They don’t want a car that is only good at one aspect of performance.
“The Corvette Z06 GT3.R breaks new ground for Chevrolet and the Corvette Racing program,” stated Mark Stielow, director of GM’s Competition Motorsports Engineering. “This customer-focused racecar leverages learnings
from throughout Corvette Racing’s lengthy and successful history, plus the expertise of our Corvette production design, engineering and powertrain teams.”
The new car is actually derived from an aluminum frame produced at the same factory in Bowling Green, Ky. that produces the street Corvettes. The car will run a 5.5-liter LT6 V8 engine that will use 70% of the same parts from the production engine.
In addition, the Z06.R GT3 will draw on and improve on the previous Corvette race cars. The Z06.R GT3 will have the same protective crash structure that debuted in the C7.R, but it will be a little easier to get in and out of thanks to a modified roll cage.
The unveiling is the culmination of years of work. The first simulator tests for the new car took place nearly two years ago in early 2021. The car has already been testing around the United States since last September.
As of now, the plan is to get the first Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs to customers in the third quarter of 2023, well ahead of the car’s debut in 2024. The current plan is for up to four teams to run the Corvette Z06.R GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next year, split between the GTD Pro and GTD classes. In addition, two cars are currently…
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